Perils of the Red Line
by Sarin-sama
Summary: After two years of separation, the crew finally gets back together and continues their journey towards the Red Line! Adventure, Drama, and maybe even some new-found romance ensues. My first FanFic so please review Dropped
1. Chapter 1

This is my first fan-fic story so don't hate me if it isn't that great. Would love some reviews – tell me you hate it, love it, think it could be better – I wanna know your opinion.

Hope you enjoy!

*And obviously, I do not own One Piece, or the characters – I am just in love with them*

* ~ * ~ Chapter 1 ~ * ~ *

Two years…

It had been two whole years since she'd seen her nakama. Her family. Two years since she saw Luffy's bandaged body on the front page of the paper, with the coded message meant for just the eight of them. What should have been a three day break from each other had turned into a two year gap. Her fingers clenched the sides of the small sky ship she was in.

Haredas-san looked to her from the small helm, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, young lady – you should be happy. Are those tears I see?"

Nami sent him a deadly scowl, letting the few tears that had attempted to form in her eyes, evaporate almost instantaneously. "Make this thing go faster Ossan."

His eyes glanced to her clenching fists and tensed. He swallowed nervously and went back to focusing on the controls.

Nami turned back to the sights of the Sabaody archipelago growing larger and larger as they made their descent from Weatheria. Her heart fluttered thinking about everyone: Robin, Franky, Chopper, Brook, Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, and most importantly, Luffy. She smiled and tried to envision what they looked like, and how strong they had all gotten.

Her two year stint in Weatheria, surrounded by a bunch of boring old men was much more interesting than she had imagined at the beginning. Nami learned all she could about the weather, and even pocketed a few of their secret notebooks for further instruction. She was going to be the best damned navigator that she could be – the navigator for the future Pirate King – while also fulfilling her ultimate goal to map the entire Grand Line.

The two years had been good to her. Nami's bright orange hair was now long and wispy, falling down to the small of her back, her skin was evenly bronzed due to a lot of sunny days close to the sun, and her body was in peak physical condition from working out every morning and every night.

If she was going to keep up with the heavy-hitters, Luffy and Zoro, she needed to be as strong as she could possibly get – though, not so sickly buff as to lose her perfect figure of course.

Nami could hear the pop of bubbles as we came to the treetops, the peculiar soap bubbles not able to leave the special atmosphere of the Sabaody Mangroves. Haredas-san brought them down between the green and bubble coated treetops, to a small grassy hill, which had formed over a large root of Grove 18.

As soon as they touched ground, Nami broke out into a smile, and gave into the building excitement in the pit of her stomach. She turned to Haredas-san and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Haredas-san," Nami said gratefully.

His wrinkled and weathered cheeks reddened, as he stammered, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey – no need for that, young lady." He pulled out of her light embrace and pulled the wind-knotted rope from somewhere deep within his blue robe.

He held it out to her, "Take it – you probably would have stolen it anyways." He gave Nami a fatherly-reproachful smile and placed it in her delicate hands.

"Thank you," she said with a polite bow.

He gave his dulled laugh that she had grown accustomed to, "Now, shoo! Go find your nakama!"

Nami's smile grew at his words and she hopped out of the sky-boat. She sent him a wave and hung her duffle bag from her shoulder. She took off at a brisk jog towards the sounds of civilization, and looked down at the Vivre Card that would lead her to Rayleigh.

The small paper shifted in her hands, directing her to the right. She walked briskly through the crowd, trying her best to dodge the rough-looking foot traffic. Compared to two years ago, Sabaody Archipelago seemed dimmer and dirtier. An abundance of scowling, toughened faces littered the crowds, while knives and guns gleamed boldly from beneath robes and tucked into waistbands. Nami avoided eye-contact when possible and followed the forward direction of the paper. She smiled as she recalled Luffy calling it a "Mystery Paper".

She came to Grove 13, and was sent into a flashback of the last time she had been here: Kuma the Tyrant's large padded hand coming closer and closer to her face as she screamed out for Luffy to save her.

She shuttered and kept walking up the hill.

Shakky's Rip-Off Bar seemed to be in its same sorry state. Moss (or maybe it was mold) grew around its base, wooden panels on the walls were hanging off in disrepair, shingles were missing from its circular rooftop, and it gave off an overall, shabby air that for some reason made Nami feel relaxed and comfortable. She stepped inside, the dim lights giving her sun-shine accustomed eyes a shock. She blinked rapidly, waiting for her sight to adjust, as she walked deeper into the bar.

Nami saw two outlines in front of her, though neither of them fit the shape of someone from her crew. A hunched figure sat on a barstool, while a thin, womanly shape leaned on her elbows from behind the bar.

"So the navigator-girl came in fourth," the woman behind the bar spoke, a smirk evident in her voice.

Nami smiled as her vision finally adjusted and allowed her to see the details of the people in front of her. The woman, Shakky, smirked at Nami, her short black hair tucked behind her ears. She looked to be in her middle ages, but from what she had hinted before, Nami knew that she was older than that. Despite her age, she seemed in perfect health. She stood up straight and stole the bottle out of the hunched figure's hands. She took a quick swig and set it down on the counter in front of Rayleigh.

Rayleigh laughed, his eyes shining from a little too much to drink. His overgrown and unruly white hair fell around his large shoulders, his thin-rimmed glasses pushed up on to the top of his head. His laugh shook through his whole body, which, despite being a seventy-something old man, was quite fit and ruggedly handsome. Age had favored him, and Nami could see why even now he was still able to seduce women.

"So I'm the fourth here?" Nami asked quickly, leaning against the bar beside Rayleigh, "Who got here before me?"

"The Swordsman, Bones, and Cyborg," Shakky listed, not bothering with names.

Her eyebrows raised at Zoro's name being first on the list. Nami smiled, "Are they all at the ship?"

She shook her head, the hair becoming untucked from one of her ears, "Just the Cyborg. Bones is at the amusement park putting on a show, and the swordsman decided to wander around town."

Nami's smile faded as she thought of Zoro wandering alone, through town. She groaned, "Great – we've lost him before we've even met up."

Rayleigh laughed again, "I'm sure someone will run into him sooner or later. You should relax and have a drink." He held out the bottle of sake and pushed a small glass towards Nami. He poured her some, and she downed it immediately.

She heard steps behind her, and soon heard a familiar voice by her ear, "Would you have a drink with me, Pretty Lady?"

Nami spun in my seat to see a completely transformed Usopp smiling goofily beside her.

Her smile grew to its maximum size as she shouted, "USOPP! You look so different!"

She hung herself from his neck and they both dissolved into fits of laughter. Nami was ashamed to say, that she and Usopp had been in the trio of weaklings, along with Chopper. They were usually the ones who tried to stay out of the way of the real fighting as much as possible, while often resorting to running away.

They pulled apart, "You look so strong now! Look at those muscles," Nami teased as she poked one of his biceps. He really did look completely different. He was thicker and way more muscled, and a few inches taller. His long nose stuck out from his face as prominent as ever, while his hair was a curly mass of black that was spilling out of his floppy-brimmed hat. Still though, he had his lucky blue and white striped wristband, and a large satchel of new gadgets and weapons that she bet he was dying to show off.

He flexed for her, while putting on a funny grimace, "Hah! I'm like a mini-Zoro!"

Usopp tried to imitate Zoro's peculiar scowl that he usually gave out when someone interrupted his workout – which by the way, is completely different from his "I have no idea what you just said" scowl and his "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you" scowl.

"And you don't look bad yourself, Nami," he snickered, "I bet Sanji gets a nose bleed the moment he sees you."

She punched his arm and turned to Rayleigh, "So where is the ship? I'm excited to see the Thousand Sunny after so long."

Rayleigh spun in his seat to face the two Straw Hats, "Grove 18, to the left of here. Look for the water and you'll find her."

Usopp and Nami nodded and hurried out the door. They walked excitedly down the hill, both smiling happily.

"I've been dying to know where everyone else got sent to!" Usopp said, "I hated not seeing anyone for two years."

Nami nodded, "Me too – I missed everyone, especially Luffy after what he had to go through at Marine Ford…"

Usopp nodded, "I felt so horrible that I hadn't been there for him…I mean, I usually didn't do much in fights, but at least I was there if someone needed me. That Kuma was brutal."

Her memory flashed back to Kuma's large padded hand. "I'm just glad I wasn't sent somewhere where I was completely alone. Sure I was stuck with a clan of old men – which was creepy at first – but at least I had people to talk to."

"Yeah – I wasn't completely alone either. I had one person with me at least." Usopp led the way down a narrow path that would take them to the water's edge of Grove 18.

As they came to the drop where the roots of the gargantuan mangrove tree plunged into the ocean, the Thousand Sunny came into view, over the next hill of roots. The smiling lion's head – or sun, depending on how far away you were from the ship – lit a new fire in their hearts.

Finally, they were meeting up. Their small group of nakama was going to be together at last. After two long years, they were finally home.

"FRANKY!" Usopp shouted at the top of his lungs, as the two of them hopped aboard the Thousand Sunny. Their feet sagged into a layer of what appeared to be bubbles, making funny little squeak sounds as they walked.

As Nami observed the ship, she could see a thick layer of the bubble-like substance covering the entire ship, from hull to flag. _So this was the special coating that would allow us to sail down to the ocean floor to Fishman Island without all the hassle of sinking the ship or imploding from the pressure_, she thought.

Franky's almost neon blue hair – which was now shaved close to his head – brought their attention to the tree on the main deck where he sat tinkering with his arm.

As he turned to the newcomers, Nami could see the modifications he had done on himself – making him seem more machine than ever. His shoulders were now hulking orbs of metal, his forearms were boxy and somewhat clumsy, and his hands resembled large, metallic boxing gloves with fingers – but while his body was completely renovated, he still wore a tacky, colorful shirt (which had its sleeves cut off and the sides slit some so that his gigantic shoulders could fit into it) and a Speedo.

Franky jumped to his feet with his surprisingly fast speed for such a bulky body, "Usopp! Nami!" He jumped to their side and pulled them into his arms, flailing them around as if they were rag dolls.

Nami patted his arm, which gave off a hollow sound, "Nice to see you Franky! But can you put me down before the Speedo gets me?"

He laughed and set her and Usopp back on the ground.

"Two years, and you still haven't put any pants on?" Usopp laughed. He smacked Franky's spherical shoulder.

"Pants cramp my Super," he said with a playful wink in Nami's direction.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "So has anyone else come to the ship? Rayleigh said that Zoro and Brook were also here…"

Franky shook his head and pulled out a poster – though from where, Nami didn't want to know. He held it up to the two of them, "Brooks is performing at the moment. He called via Den-Den Mushi to tell us that he won't be here until tomorrow afternoon. And Zoro never came by. I'm assuming that he got lost." Franky laughed and turned to compliment Usopp's masculinity.

Nami looked towards land and pulled her small purse out of my duffle bag. She interrupted the boy's flexing competition in which Franky was doing winning, "I'm going to go shopping. Maybe I'll run into a familiar face or two."

Nami gave them a smile and a wave and hopped off the Thousand Sunny, her feet squeaking with every step. As she touched grassy ground she headed towards the main roads, looking at the Bon Chari vehicles as they passed overhead, carrying families and couples to their destinations. She fought the urge to rent one, knowing that they'd only be there for a few days at the most, and kept walking until she noticed something strange in the distance.

A pillar of dust was rising, as if a fight were going on. Nami's heart raced and her gut told her that it was one of her nakama – but what were the chances? This island was filled with thugs and pirates; just because there was a fight going on, it doesn't mean that it had to be someone she knew…

But was it really possible for her friends to keep out of trouble? Specifically Zoro and Luffy. Trouble seemed to follow them like a loyal puppy. She headed in the direction of the dust pillar, into a small and grungy cropping of buildings in Grove 20.

There was a small crowd watching from adjacent sidewalks and through shop windows. Despite her gut feeling, the two men fighting were unfamiliar thugs hashing it out with their meaty fists. Nami sighed – both relieved and somewhat disappointed that it hadn't been her friends.

_Where the heck was everybody?_

"You look disappointed – the fight not interesting enough for you?" a smooth and jazzy voice asked from behind her. Nami spun around to see Robin's calm but obviously happy blue eyes.

Nami's mouth opened in another smile, but before she could reply, the high-pitched voice of a child called her.

"Nami!"

She looked and saw Chopper galloping through the crowd in his reindeer form, dividing the group of people and receiving lots of strange scowls as he did so. He was more the height of a horse than a reindeer, now; his coat streaked with more blonde than it had been before. Chopper had grown as well, but he still seemed to be his innocent self.

As he neared her, he transformed into his small, teddybear-like self and leapt into Nami's arms with the momentum from his gallop. She caught him and gave him a comforting squeeze, "You look great Chopper! And your fur is so soft now!"

Even through his fur, she could see his cheeks redden. He squirmed in her arms and giggled, "Don't compliment me, jerk – it won't make me happy."

Nami laughed and set him down, turning to Robin. Her hair had gotten longer as well, waves of black falling around her shoulders, contrasted against her pale creamy skin. As her usual style, she wore a shirt open at the chest revealing a lot of skin. She and Nami both had the same taste in clothes – and they had no problem showing off what they had.

Unfortunately, they heard a distant voice that agreed.

A high-pitched voice that didn't match the man squealed as he fawned over every girl he laid eyes on. "I must have been in Hell, because this is absolute paradise!" His voice rose above the crowd, and of course just as Nami was about to hug Robin, he spotted them.

Nami could almost see his pupils forming hearts and he darted towards the girls screaming "NAMI-SWAN! ROBIN-CHAN!"

They pulled apart from their interrupted hug, and turned to Sanji, as he raced through the crowd – receiving more awkward looks than Chopper did. The girls each gave him a quick hug, breaking away after a few seconds, knowing how touchy he could get.

"Truly dazzling," he squealed as he looked between the two of them.

"I'm here too, Sanji!" Chopper said with a childish laugh. Even though he was at least seventeen now, he would always be the child of the crew. His innocence and toddler-sized body were the two biggest reasons, though there were definitely more.

Sanji broke out of his girl-frenzied daze, and looked down at Chopper. "Hey, Tony! Long time, no see," he said in his normal even-toned voice that actually sounded like it belonged to him. He smiled down at Chopper and pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket.

"Have you gone to the ship yet?" Robin asked. She pulled a pair of orange sunglasses from her small bag and put them on.

Sanji lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply. He blew the smoke to the side to avoid getting it in Nami and Robin's faces, "Not yet. I was just taking in the sights first…"

Nami rolled my eyes, "Well you should go see Usopp and Franky – they're already down at the water's edge in Grove 18."

Sanji nodded with a smile, "That'll be my next stop."

"You haven't seen Zoro yet, have you?" Chopper asked, scanning the crowd for Zoro.

Besides Luffy, Chopper had probably missed Zoro the most. The two of them had a strange bond, which was definitely unusual for Zoro, who usually kept his attitude stoic around others. It might have been because Chopper was always running to Zoro when he was scared, or because Zoro was always on Chopper's operating table – but for whatever reason, they were close.

Sanji took another drag, "Marimo's here?"

Nami nodded, "Somehow he managed to get here before anyone else."

Sanji snorted, "That's a miracle."

Nami shrugged, "It's surprising – maybe he's gotten better with directions over the last two years…" she offered, hoping that it was true. His lack of direction often caused him to get lost and separated from the group – usually during a time when they needed him most.

"Eh, don't get your hopes up – I bet he's barely changed at all." Sanji made smoke rings and watched them float up into the sky.

Robin smirked, "You haven't changed much yourself – except for that small beard." Nami looked him over, and besides, styling his hair to cover the opposite eye, and the dark patch that formed on his chin and on his upper lip, Sanji hadn't changed at all.

Sanji stroked the small patch of dark beard on his chin, "It's sexy, huh?"

Nami laughed curtly, "Not really my first choice of words."

He ignored her reply and let his cigarette drop to the ground. He crushed it with his shoe and pointed back the way he had come. "I'm going to continue sight-seeing. I'll probably pick up some food supplies while I'm here."

Robin and Nami nodded, as Chopper spoke, "We'll see you at the Sunny then!" Chopper laughed and started clopping his way down the path, his small hooves clicking with each step. The girls followed his lead, letting him take them back to the ship.

They talked, but never mentioned where they had been sent, or what they had been doing for the past two years. They decided that it would be better to tell their stories with everyone there, instead of retelling it every time someone else wandered aboard.

"I can't wait to see everyone! I wanna show you guys my new moves," Chopper said excitedly. He skipped after every couple of steps, his good mood too much for him to handle while standing still.

Robin nodded, "And I'm curious to see them. I bet you've gotten much stronger."

Chopper fidgeted ecstatically and insisted that compliments didn't work on him. Robin and Nami exchanged knowing glances and kept on towards the ship.

* * *

><p>So how did you like it? I don't wanna sound like i'm begging, but please review xD<p>

Lingo: (Though, if you're reading this, you probably already know that these two are)

_Nakama - _Close friends, crewmembers  
><em>Marimo<em> - Moss-head (Sanji's favorite insult for Zoro)


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next chapter – I hope you like it.

* ~ * ~ Chapter 2 ~ * ~ *

"I won't get lost! You can stop following me now!" an angry and intense voice argued. The voice that all three of the Straw Hats knew so well was coming from up ahead on their trail.

A high pitched, girlish voice replied to him, almost bored, "So, you _wanted_ to wander off into the mangrove forest that Rayleigh had warned you about?"

The angry voice grumbled, "I was looking for a bar."

"Well there wasn't one in there. Sheesh – where are your crewmates anyways? I've been stuck with you for two years and I'm tired of babysitting," The girlish voice sighed.

"You can't be tired; you're in your spirit form. You aren't even walking!"

"Hmph, well being around you makes my spirit tired."

Robin, Chopper and Nami came to the top of a small hill and saw farther down the path. Heading in their direction was Zoro – accompanied by a familiar girl who was floating through the air on her back as if she were swimming.

It took Nami a minute to realize who she was.

Perona…the girl that Kuma made disappear on Thriller Bark. Kuma's image made Nami shutter again as she watched Chopper run ahead of the trio.

"ZORO!" Chopper shouted gleefully. He transformed into his reindeer body, and galloped at an amazing speed towards Zoro. As he leapt at Zoro, he once again transformed into his small, child-like body and let Zoro catch him. He was wearing a forest green Samurai robe, open at the torso, and cinched together at the waist with a red sash that held his signature three katanas.

"Chopper," Zoro said with a happy smirk – which was a gigantic display of emotion for Zoro. He caught Chopper with quick hands and fluidly swung him up onto his wide shoulder. Zoro looked up at Chopper's happy squinted eyes. "I was wondering when I'd run into everyone."

"Were you lost?" Nami smirked, walking slightly faster to close the gap between them.

Zoro sent her a scowl, but it was different than what she was used to…only one of his solemn gray eyes was open. A vertical scar ran from his forehead, down through his left eye to the middle of his cheek. Besides the scar he didn't seem too different, though his odd green hair was slightly longer and he seemed more bulky. She didn't think it was possible for Zoro to become stronger, but she was definitely wrong. He seemed more muscled than ever.

Perona sighed and did a few showy flips in the air, "He would have if I hadn't been there to save him. He's hopeless."

Zoro's scowl shifted to her, "I could have gotten here on my own – you were just bored and lonely."

"Well, DUH! Mihawk is so boring! And his eyes give me the creeps," Perona defended. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Wait…Mihawk? The Shichibukai?" Chopper asked with astonishment.

Nami's eyes widened as well, and Robin's surprised reaction happened on the inside where no one could see it. She rarely let anything faze her.

Zoro's lips tightened, "Later. So where's everybody else? Has anyone seen Luffy yet?"

Robin shook her head and said in a light smile, "It seems our Captain is running late. He'll turn up eventually."

Zoro actually smiled, "That's just like him, isn't it." He turned to Perona, "You don't have to stick around anymore."

"That's a very touching goodbye. Is that all the thanks I get for bandaging you up for the past TWO years?" Perona narrowed her eyes at Zoro.

He sighed and gave her a little bow of respect, "Thank you, Perona for attempting to patch me up…even if you did a crappy job at it."

Perona eyed him flatly, "Oh shut up – I only did it to prevent myself from being alone with that bore-master. Go have fun getting sliced up even more than you already are." She pointed at his open Samurai robe to his scar covered chest.

His dark eyes lightened with a ferocious fire that often blazed when he was fighting, "Oh I will. Tell Hawk-Eye that I look forward to our final fight."

She snorted and darted effortlessly into the sky, "Good-bye swordsman. I hope you don't die."

Zoro watched her go and then turned to Robin and Nami, "So where's the ship?"

"You _were_ lost, weren't you?" Nami asked plainly.

He narrowed his eye at her, "No, I just don't remember at the moment which grove it was in. Damn – it's been three minutes, woman, and you're already on my nerves."

Chopper laughed from his perch on Zoro's shoulder and answered, "Grove 18! Let's go! Maybe Luffy's gotten there already!"

"If we know anything about Luffy, it's that he'll make a big entrance. Whether he means to or not, that's always how it is. I wouldn't be surprised if he just fell from the sky," Nami said, walking between Zoro and Robin as they continued down the path.

"Oh, Zoro!" Chopper started, "I learned how to make a new salve that might work on healing some of your newer scars. It probably won't work on the older ones, but I could try."

Zoro glanced up at Chopper, "That's cool Chopper, but my scars are important. They remind me that I can always get stronger." He looked down at his bare chest and saw the sprawling scar that started on his left shoulder and ran down to his right hip – the scar he had gotten from Mihawk's blade back before they had gotten to the Grand Line.

Chopper's eyes widened with respectful awe. He nodded and looked forward, trying to hide his adoration. _Zoro was just so COOL_, Chopper thought to himself.

The group of four finally made it to the water's edge, and as the ship came into view Nami yelled, "HEY! Guess who I found in town!" They all hopped aboard as Usopp and Franky looked up from some new mechanical gadget they were tinkering with.

As Chopper spotted Franky he hopped down and fawned over his new modifications.

Usopp and Chopper burst into laughter as Franky started making jerky mechanical movements, as if he were a full-on machine. Nami and Robin went to unpack some of their belongings in their room, as Zoro leaned against the main mast and watched his nakama. Three were missing – that dumbass cook, Brook, and Luffy.

After spending two years with an annoying ghostly-girl and his greatest enemy, Zoro felt ready to continue their captain's quest towards becoming the Pirate King. He wouldn't show it, but he was glad to be back with everyone. Despite his constant indifferent scowl, he had missed everyone – even Sanji a little, though he'd never actually admit that out loud.

Speaking of the devil, Sanji hopped aboard pulling a few bubbles filled with supplies behind him. The cook gave an acknowledging nod to everyone, fawned over Robin and Nami for a few minutes, and then disappeared in to his main domain, the kitchen.

"So we're just waiting for Brook and our dearest captain," Usopp sighed, "Where is Brook, anyway? I heard something about a concert."

"Apparently," Robin started, "He's the newest singing sensation on the Grand Line. He calls himself the Soul King. He's doing a few concerts at the amusement park."

Chopper's eyes widened, "Wow! So he's famous now!"

Usopp laughed, "That sounds way more entertaining than training for two years on an island that constantly tries to eat you."

Chopper's eyes widened even more, to the point that his pupils looked like saucers. He was about to ask more on the subject of Usopp's Carnivorous Island, when Nami gave them both a stern look.

"No exchanging stories yet! Wait until Luffy gets here, or else we'll have to go over it all again."

Chopper nodded and sighed, "Okay. But so far Usopp's sounds the scariest."

Zoro smirked, "You haven't heard mine yet."

"No," Sanji said from the doorway to the kitchen, "Mine was definitely the worst…it was like hell on earth." His normally cool blue eyes looked hollow in their sockets, as he thought about his two years away from the group. Sanji's body rippled with a large tremor, as he disappeared into the kitchen once more.

Zoro shrugged, "Hell for him probably means a place without women…"

Usopp laughed, "Or maybe they were all ugly, old women."

Chopper looked towards the kitchen after Sanji, "He made it sound so horrible…it has to be worse than that at least."

"Well, we'll find out eventually. In the meantime, we should prepare the ship for departure. Knowing Luffy, he'll probably come with trouble hot on his heels," Nami said as she shoved Zoro from his spot against the mast.

* * *

><p>"No, Hancock, I will not marry you," Luffy said as seriously as he could muster, though his brown eyes still had that hint of smile reflected in them.<p>

Boa Hancock just stared at him, her cheeks red and her eyes glazed over in some daydream or another.

"Hebihime?" Luffy's friend from Amazon Lily, Marguerite asked, "Empress? We've stopped as far away as you specified." Marguerite looked expectantly at Hancock, as her green battle snake wove itself around her skinny waist and flicked its tongue in a bored fashion.

Hancock, the Snake Princess of Amazon Lily quickly snapped out of her daydream – which heavily involved Luffy and herself in a romantic embrace – and looked to Marguerite. Hancock nodded, "Good." She turned back to Luffy, "If I'm to keep my title as Shichibukai, our love must not be discovered."

Luffy said plainly, "We're not in love."

She ignored his statement and continued, "I'm afraid I can take you no further."

Luffy nodded, "I understand." He smiled and threw on an overstuffed pack onto his back. It was mostly filled with delicious food from Amazon Lily, with a few random pieces of clothes thrown in. He hopped down into a little rowboat that obviously belonged to the Kuja Pirates – snakes were carved into the woodwork to make it look as if writhing snakes made up the entire ship.

He waved to all of the women on deck and shouted, "See you again, someday!" He kicked the Kuja ship with excess strength, and sent his small rowboat skimming across the water like a rock thrown expertly from the shoreline.

As he was quickly speeding away he heard Hancock's voice swoon, "Did you hear that? He says he wants to see me again! That MUST be a proposal!"

Luffy laughed and continued waving until their ship was too far away to see the people on it. Once his small rowboat slowed down, he paddled as fast as he could until he reached the extended roots of the Sabaody Mangroves.

Dressed in an unbuttoned red shirt, blue jean shorts, and Hancock's borrowed cloak, he hopped off the boat and onto the Sabaody Archipelago, ignoring his urge to stretch his arm out to the nearest tree and slingshot himself onto land.

He had promised to lay low until he got to his ship. Even though most of the world thought he was dead, the marines were always on the lookout, and knew pretty well that he was the only person who was able to stretch like that.

Luffy smiled as a delicious sent wafted through the air and into his nostrils.

His stomach grumbled and he sighed, "Fooooood."

He followed his nose, instead of the Vivre Card, hoping to find something delicious to eat before finding his crew. He missed them unbearably, but he was defenseless against the lure of food. Especially food that smelled so good.

Luffy wandered off, keeping a tight grip on the pack that weighed down his back.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Please Review and tell me what you think. Much more to come!<p>

Lingo:

_Hebihime_ = Snake Princess


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad you all like it :D here's the next installment, for you! Enjoy xD**

* ~ * ~ Chapter 3 ~ * ~ *

The sun was setting, and while the seven Straw Hats already aboard the Thousand Sunny were playing a game of cards on deck, Luffy was stuffing his face in a tavern somewhere in the middle of Grove 7, a lawless area.

Ignoring the vicious air about the tavern and the snarling looks that were mostly aimed his way, Luffy stuffed large bites of Sea King steak into his mouth, making his cheeks stretch out a little ways. This probably drew some attention to him, but with the hood of his borrowed cloak pulled over his face, he didn't worry about being recognized.

A stack of empty plates was starting to pile up beside him and once his belly was practically full without making his body stretch-out into a blob, he pushed himself away from the bar. He gazed admirably the tower of plates he had emptied.

"You better have money for all that kid," the bartender snarled. He had a tattoo of a sea king wrapped around his arm, the head of the beast on the back of his hand, and the tail somewhere covered by his shirt sleeve.

Luffy rummaged through his pack and pulled out the small sack of Beri that Hancock had given him. Without asking the price of his meal, or counting out what was in the money purse, he shoved it into the bartender's hands. Luffy smiled, "Thanks for the food!"

The bartender's scowl turned into shocked surprise as Luffy slung his pack over his shoulders again and took off – not worried in the least that he overpaid for his meal at least three times.

He waddled slightly out the door, and looked up. What wasn't treetops and mystery bubbles was a dark starry sky. He could tell by the light that the moon was out, but couldn't see where it was. Night had fallen while he had eaten, and now he needed to find Rayleigh.

Luffy smiled as he followed the Vivre Card as it shifted to the right in his hands.

Anticipation had taken over his spirit once more, and he couldn't help but grin the whole way to the Rip-Off Shack. Luffy longed to see his friends…they were all he had left. His family.

You didn't have to be related by blood to think of someone as your family. You didn't have to be related by blood to mourn someone as your brother. First Sabo, then Ace – Luffy wasn't going to let anyone else die. His family would live…he was going to make sure of that.

The Vivre Card pointed forward. Luffy looked up to see Shakky's Rip-Off Shack atop the hill before him. Even though it had only been six months since Rayleigh had left Rusukaina to let Luffy continue his training on his own, he was looking forward to seeing the old man.

Luffy hurried up the pathway that wove up to the Rip-Off Shack, and quickly burst through the door. "Hey Ossan! Are you here?"

The bar was dimly lit but bright enough to show both Shakky and Rayleigh sitting in a booth in the corner. Rayleigh's eyes darted to Luffy from behind their glasses. "Ah, so my reckless pupil has returned. You're the last one here. Your crew is already at the ship."

Luffy grinned, "Great! So where is it? I need to get there fast!"

Rayleigh stood from his seat at the booth and crossed his arms over his chest, "There's something we need to discuss first…"

Shakky took a drag from her cigarette and blew out smoke rings, "It concerns your father."

* * *

><p>Sequined clothes and an electric guitar that was shaped like a swordfish hung off a skeleton. The skeleton sat reclined in a folding chair, its mouth hanging slightly open, and its skull cracked across the forehead. It was a strange sight for sure – especially the puffy afro that was somehow still attached to the skull.<p>

Suddenly the skeleton moved! It sighed and sat up straight in its chair.

"Yohohoho," the skeleton breathed, "That was a good show! I'm going to miss this life…though technically I'm already dead." He laughed at his own joke when his manager stepped into the skeleton's dressing room.

"Soul King! Baby! That was great! You are the rising star of the Grand Line!" The manager sauntered up behind the skeleton. The manager was also a strange spectacle, though obviously not as strange as a living skeleton. The manager had long arms that had two elbows on each, giving him very strange arm movements.

The skeleton always mentally compared him to a chimpanzee of sorts, but that would be an insult to primates everywhere. "That's very kind, Manager – but tomorrow will be my greatest performance yet!"

Manager laughed, "That's the spirit. This place loves you – we're raking in the Berries as we speak!"

The skeleton, or Soul King as Manager referred to him, sighed and looked into his vanity mirror. His bones were tired and he wanted a rest. "If you'll excuse me, Manager, I'd like to get some rest before tomorrow's show."

Manager nodded, "Of course, of course! Rest up! Tomorrow's another big day – and then we've got the rest of this week's performances to look forward to!" The manager smiled, thinking solely of the money they'd make and left the Soul King in his dressing room. Soul King would have scowled at the man, but bone couldn't scowl.

The Soul King hadn't forgiven Manager and the other strange two-elbowed fiends that captured him. They took him, hoping to make money off of a living skeleton – and then used his music skills to make even more money.

Though he thoroughly hated Manager, at least he had agreed to set up a show on Sabaody. Soul King had just forgotten to mention that he would be leaving the island with his nakama, instead of the greedy Manager.

He stood up from his chair, his towering height causing him to hit his head on the small ceiling. He stretched out his bones as much as he could and rested one hand on the electric guitar that was still hanging around his neck. He left the dressing room and started towards the hotel, the streets mostly empty due to the night's darkness caused by the shrouding treetops.

The Soul King looked up and found a few stars visible through a patch in the trees. "I'm coming, friends. I'll be there as soon as I can," he promised on the stars. The Soul King's thoughts were filled with pictures of his nakama. He longed to meet with them again to continue their journey, no matter how perilous.

He had promises to keep, and if he didn't go with them, he'd never see his old friend Laboon at Reverse Mountain.

The Soul King hurried to his hotel room, and quickly fell into his bed, giving way to dreams of his fellow crewmates, the Straw Hat Pirates.

* * *

><p>The ship was filled with snores and sounds of sleeping, but for once, Zoro was having a hard time doing the same. Thoughts clouded his mind, mostly about his nakama. He was especially surprised at how much Usopp had advanced, comparing him to his scrawny and scare-able old self.<p>

Even though everyone had changed, they were still themselves. Sanji was still obsessed with women – though now he seemed even worse at keeping himself composed in their presence; Chopper had grown even smarter, but was still gullible and overly shy; Nami was tougher, and even more willing to hit people for their stupidity; Franky still hadn't given up on the Speedo; and Robin was still quiet and cunning, though she smiled a lot more than she did two years ago.

He wondered if his nakama saw any changes in him, but doubted it. Zoro felt even stronger than before, but ultimately the same. Besides his blind left eye and a few more scars, he remained static.

The night was cool, but not cold. Zoro gripped his katanas as they lay across his lap, and propped them up against the wall he was leaning on. He wondered vaguely why he couldn't sleep, but chalked it up to feeling uneasy with no one keeping watch.

On Mihawk's island, he had spent a lot of time out in the woods, camping out in the gorilla territory to practice stealth. For overgrown monkeys, they were pretty smart and had unexpectedly good hearing. With no one but himself out there (besides the occasional visit from Perona, who for some reason stayed in the island instead of leaving like a normal person) he stayed up as much as he could at night to keep watch.

Maybe that habit was sticking with him, and that was why he couldn't sleep. Zoro shrugged and stood up. If he was up, he might as well be training. He quickly climbed the ladder to the observatory which doubled as his workout room. He contented himself by lifting two-ton weights until sunrise.

* * *

><p>After Rayleigh's talk last night, Shakky told Luffy to sleep at the Rip-Off Shack for the night. Luffy wanted to hurry to his ship, but figured if he stayed the night there, he'd be able to show the old man how much stronger he'd gotten since Rayleigh left the island.<p>

He woke in the morning with nothing in particular on his mind. The conversation concerning Dragon was already fading from his memory. The man may be his father, but he was a stranger to Luffy. He hadn't even known who is father was until the Enies Lobby ordeal was over when his grandfather Garp had let it slip. It didn't matter to Luffy

He jumped out of the bed in the attic of the bar, and followed his nose to the smell of something cooking. His stomach growled fiercely, like a beast on the attack. Luffy pounced into the kitchen, "Uwaaah! Smells gooooood!"

Shakky looked up at him, unfazed, a cigarette tucked behind her ear for later use. She was making scrambled eggs in a skillet over the stove, "Figured you'd like something to eat before your fight with Rayleigh"

Luffy laughed, "How'd you guess?"

Shakky smirked, "You had that look in your eye yesterday when you burst in here. I think Rayleigh is looking forward to it to."

Luffy snatched a plate of eggs and devoured them in an instant. He had three more servings after and went to find Rayleigh outside, behind the Rip-Off Shack.

"OSSAN! Let's hurry up and fight so I can get back to my friends!" Luffy shouted with an excited laugh.

Rayleigh stood up from a tree root that stuck up from the ground that was big enough to be a bench. Rayleigh's eyes shined behind his thin-framed glasses, "Let's see how much you've learned, Straw-Hat. Show me that you're good enough to be the Pirate King."

Luffy raised a fist to the air, "I will be the Pirate King, Ossan! Just watch me!" Luffy shouted confidently.

* * *

><p><strong>So how was it? Sorry it was shorter than my last two chapters - I'll try to make my 4th longer xD Any critisism is welcome, I want to know if I'm doing something wrong so that I can fix it. Anywho - ty for reading!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you everyone for your reviews! I'm so glad you like the story so far – and trust me, it will get better from here xD **

**A/N: Because I have not read the magna, and the series hasn't gotten as far as Fishman Island yet, I will be creating my own Fishman Island instead, that way I don't have to wait for Oda's version to come out. It will be a challenge, but I like so far what I have sketched out in my mind.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece – even though I wish I did lol.**

* ~ * Chapter 4 * ~ *

"My – you have gotten stronger, brat," Rayleigh said as he rubbed his jaw. He smirked at Luffy, lying on the ground with his ever-present grin gleaming in the morning sunlight.

Luffy was panting, but happy with himself – sure he had gotten knocked to the floor, but he had landed one of his trademark Gomu-Gomu no _Pistol_ shots on Rayleigh's jaw. He could probably count the number of times on his two hands that he'd actually gotten a good punch in at the old man. "Either I'm getting faster, or you're getting slower, Ossan. Maybe I knocked something loose up there." Luffy tapped his head as he sprang to his feet, crazy laughter echoing through the mangrove trees around them.

Their duel had been going for about two hours now, and all they had to show for it was shortness of breath, and a few sore places. Most of the battle had been one man blocking the other and vice-versa. Though Rayleigh was the master, he had only been able to get a fraction of his attacks to connect.

He was proud. Luffy had clearly mastered all three forms of Haki – Kenbunshoku, the Premonition Haki; Busoshoku, the Armament Haki; and Haoshoku, the Conqueror's Haki. Luffy was now an expert in all three, proven by his fighting skill.

Rayleigh sliced his sword through the air, sending a sharp and invisible blade of Busoshoku towards Luffy's middle.

Luffy sprang into the air effortlessly, missing the invisible Busoshoku blade by a wide margin, and sending down a rain of fists, known as his Gomu-Gomu no _Gatling Gun_. Rayleigh dodged each of his fists with expert ease, and waiting for his chance to strike as Luffy came hurtling towards the ground.

Luffy sucked in a large breath and inflated himself just as he came towards Rayleigh. His balloon-like body hit Rayleigh's fist and was sent immediately skyward. He pin-balled off of the mangrove's branches for almost a minute before he deflated himself and put the bottoms of his feet together. His arms caught hold of a mangrove branch, and with speeds that matched lightning, sent his feet – still pressed together – towards the ground.

"YARI!" he shouted as his feet, formed to make a spear of flesh, hit the ground.

He had been using Busoshoku, and with that single blow of his feet he created a crater where Rayleigh had been just moments ago.

Luffy could no longer see the old man, but that didn't bother him. He closed his eyes, and sent his Kenbunshoku out, feeling the area for his presence. He found the old man's spirit at the base of the tree he was hanging from, but also felt another presence.

"Eh?" Luffy opened his eyes and looked towards where he felt the other spirit. Dust had risen in the area, more so now because of his Haki-Spear attack. His view was obscured, so he let go of the branch.

He fell towards the earth – or more specifically, the roots of the mangrove tree which made up the entirety of the Sabaody Archipelago – but instead of smacking harshly to the ground, he inflated the bottoms of his feet just enough to absorb the impact. Luffy stuck his landing and called out to Rayleigh to his right, "Hey Ossan – what do you say we call this a draw?"

"Are you tired of getting out-maneuvered, already? And here I thought we'd have at least another hour!" Rayleigh laughed and pulled out a flask from his waistband. He took a quick swig and waited for Luffy's answer.

"I'm just thinking of your health, Rayleigh…that and I don't want to accidentally hurt our audience."

Rayleigh's hand faltered as he went to take another swig of sake. He probed the area with his Kenbunshoku and found that the brat was right. They had a spectator.

He could physically see no one with all the dust Luffy had brought up with his last attack, but knew for sure that there was someone there…and they were giving off waves of fear.

Rayleigh whipped his sword through the air, and in an instant cleared away all the dust. He could see Luffy watching the spot where the watcher was hiding, with his head cocked to the right. "_Nanda?_ Who's there?"

Luffy stretched his arms and grabbed a hold of an old brick wall. He shot himself forward, and landed on top of the wall. He looked down to see a cowering Marine scout, holding a pair of binoculars to his chest and staring up at Luffy's sudden appearance.

"Oooh, you're a Marine!" Luffy laughed.

"D-D-don't come any closer! I-I'm warning you!" The Marine stammered as he scrambled to his feet. He backed away from the wall, clutching the binoculars tightly to his chest, as if they were somehow protecting him. "I've already t-told the Marine base your position."

Luffy laughed again, his grin stretching as far across his face as it would go, "Then I better hurry back to my ship then. Things are going to get exciting!" Luffy bounded off the wall, back towards Rayleigh. "Hey, Ossan!" he shouted, "He says the Marines will be on their way soon!"

Rayleigh laughed and continued his swig of sake. He exhaled sharply after his drink, "Then I guess you should get going! You've wasted enough time here as it is."

"The next time it won't be a draw! I'll kick your ass, Ossan!" Luffy laughed. He picked up his pack and slung it effortlessly over his shoulders, despite its heavy weight.

"You can try, brat! You may have learned from the best, but that doesn't make you any better!" Rayleigh teased. He stashed his flask in his waist band and watched as his pupil of eighteen months gave a respectful bow.

With his head lowered Luffy spoke, "Thank you, Rayleigh-san…for everything."

Rayleigh smiled proudly, "Hurry along to your crew…they've been waiting for you."

Luffy stood up straight. Despite the raging smile taking up half of his face, Luffy's dark brown eyes looked a mixture of sadness and anxiety. "I know," he said quietly, "I've been waiting for them too."

With one last smile at Rayleigh, Luffy took off running through the trees.

Rayleigh watched him go, until a brick of realization hit the bottom of his stomach. "LUFFY, WAIT! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU WHERE THE BOAT IS!"

But Luffy was already too far away to hear the old man's shouts.

Formerly the right hand of Gold Roger, the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh laughed and shook his head.

"Roger – that's the boy…no, that's the _man_ that will take your place someday. He's the one to become the Pirate King."

* * *

><p>Brook walked out onto the stage amidst purple and red smoke, his swordfish-shaped guitar hanging from his neck. He plucked a few chords with his skeletal fingers, much to the excitement of the hoards of people that flooded the grassy field in front of the stage.<p>

"Yohohoho! Hello ladies and skele-men!" He shouted into the microphone.

Cheers soared into the overhanging canopy of treetops and chants rang from every man, woman, and child's lips. "Soul King! Soul King! Soul King!" they all shouted in high spirits.

"Your cheers make my heart sing!...well, they would if I had a heart. Yohohoho!" He laughed at his own joke. The crowd went wild with laughter as well and waited eagerly for more. "This afternoon's performance is going to be great! – but, I'm sad to say that it will be my last show."

The crowd hushed to silent murmurs as the skeleton's words sank in. The skeleton hazarded a glance at Manager to the side of the stage and saw an angered look in his eyes.

Finally someone from the crowd spoke out, "You mean...your last show on Sabaody, right?"

Soul Kind shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry my dearest fans…but I mean seriously. My heart is pulling me away from this life – my passion is shifting."

The crowd looked distraught, but Manager looked nothing less than livid.

Soul King sighed but spoke once again, "I'm sorry to drop the news so suddenly - but let's make this my best performance EVER! I promise that this day will be one you won't forget!"

A mixture of cheers and sad cries rang out in response as Soul King dove into his most popular hit "Bad in My Bones."

Soul King and the crowd became enthralled by the music. Every eye was plastered on stage, except for one pair.

On the side stage, hidden from the crowds view by a small network of curtains, Manager was throwing a tantrum. He knocked over a spare amp as well as a light stand. Glass shattered, its high pitched tinkling sounds soothing his enraged soul.

_How dare that damned skeleton say that! Right when they were starting to make it really big, he goes and pulls a stunt like that! What in the hell was he thinking?_

And then Manager remembered their conversation a few weeks ago, before they had decided on Sabaody.

"_I don't think we're big enough for Sabaody yet – what if no one shows?" Manager paced Brook's dressing room. They had just finished a weekend of shows on a resort island, and were trying to figure out their next step on the road to fame and fortune._

"_We're ready. I'm telling you." The skeleton persuaded ceaselessly._

"_What makes you so sure?" Manager retorted. He swiveled his double-jointed arms around in frustration._

_The skeleton just laughed his peculiar laugh and answered, "I made a promise to meet someone there…it's going to be a big deal."_

At the time, Manager had just assumed that Soul King had been in touch with a famous singer or band. He thought the big deal would be a guest appearance by another of the rising stars on the Grand Line.

_But this? Was this the "big deal" he had been speaking of? Who in the world did he think he was meeting here?_

Manager's thoughts reached a bitter place. He eyed the den-den Mushi sitting on a crate nearby while a scheme started to form in his mind – one that would really bring in a memorable close to Brook's career.

* * *

><p>"What do you think all that rumbling was about? You don't think it was an earthquake, do you?" Chopper's soprano voice asked. He looked nervously off in the distance, where a dust cloud had risen earlier.<p>

"Bah, don't worry about it Chopper. People on this island just like to get into fights, that's all. I'm sure it was nothing," Usopp ensured. He clapped Chopper on the back and poked playfully at his large hat.

Chopper giggled and jumped on Usopp's shoulders, "Yeah, you're right…I just keep worrying that one of those fights is going to be Luffy."

Zoro looked over at the duo and smirked, "Don't worry about Luffy. If we've all gotten stronger, you can bet Luffy has too – probably more so than us."

"Still," Nami started, "He really should be here by now – and he should at least be trying to avoid fights. It would be best to enter the New World with some discretion."

Zoro laughed, "Discretion? Luffy? Do you really think he's changed that much? It's been two years, not ten."

Nami sighed, "Well, here's to hoping."

Suddenly Sanji burst out from the kitchen, "NAMI-SWAN! ROBIN-CHAN! Your breakfast is ready, my lovelies!" Sanji twirled to Nami, who was sitting on the bench that circled the mast, and then to Robin who was on the upper deck reading. He gave the women their plates of delicious smelling food and then addressed the rest of the crew, "Oi! Everyone else – get your asses to the kitchen. I'm not a catering service!"

Everyone grumbled and followed Sanji back into the kitchen – even Robin, who did so solely to socialize and surround herself with the comfortable and mostly meaningless conversation of her friends.

Nami was the only one left on deck. She ate her breakfast in silence, while watching the shoreline. She was expecting Luffy to come bursting onto the Thousand Sunny in some ridiculous fashion, and wanted to be the first one to see him. Whether it was to hug him, or hit him, she wasn't sure, but she felt the need to be the first.

"Hurry up, Luffy…we're all waiting."

* * *

><p>"Bwwaaah! Where am I?" Luffy groaned. He looked up at the sky, only to see green treetops and colorful bubbles. Luffy racked his brains trying to remember where Rayleigh had said the ship was…but couldn't remember a thing.<p>

"Hmmph – maybe if I get to the treetops I can get a better view," he thought aloud to himself. He was about to hop onto a bubble when a bullet hit him in the stomach.

He stayed still for a minute and listened.

"I got him!" An eager voice shouted.

Luffy grinned and faced the voice – a platoon of Marines had surrounded him, while one stood slightly out from the rest with a smoking gun held lightly in his hands.

"Nope!" Luffy laughed. His rubbed body sent the bullet flying back the way it had come, causing the entire Marine troupe to hit the ground. Luffy laughed again, "I really don't wanna fight you right now – I've got to find my crew!"

The leader of the Marine platoon got to his feet and shouted orders to his men, but they were pointless. Luffy gazed confidently at the leader – his Haoshoku aimed at every single one of the thirty-three men, including the Platoon Lieutenant.

The invisible intimidation power hit them all, and they sank unconscious to the ground. Luffy laughed and proceeded with his plan. He hopped onto a bubble that had just risen from the ground, and held on tightly.

Once about a hundred feet from the ground, the speed of the bubble started to feel too slow for his liking, so he catapulted himself off of it, and onto another that was higher up. Luffy jumped and floated higher and higher, until he was even with the treetops.

The bubble he was on popped. A particularly thick patch of soapy leaves caught him, and was able to support his weight.

"The ship is obviously docked somewhere along the shoreline…so if I just walk along the edges of the island, I'll eventually get to it," Luffy thought happily out loud. He pushed himself down through the leaves and decided it would be easier to see the ground from the underside of the branches, rather than on top of them. He swung from branch to branch like the Monkey that he was.

He watched the shoreline, hoping that he'd see the Thousand Sunny sometime soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Lingo:<strong>

"**Nanda?" – "What the Hell?"  
><strong>"**Ossan" – means "Uncle", but is used as "Old Man"  
><strong>**"Yari" - "Spear"**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys - sorry it took me so long to update, I've been working on other stories. Anyway, here you go - Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, or the characters.**

* * *

><p>* ~ * Chapter 5 * ~ *<p>

_Yohohoho, this sure has gotten interesting! _Soul King thought as he stared at the Marines bursting into the open field. "Soul King – or should I say Humming Brook! – You are under arrest for piracy! Surrender now, and we won't kill you!" a Marine Lieutenant shouted with angry venom in his voice.

"Yohohoho," Brook laughed, "It seems you've finally found me out…I assume you can thank Manager for that."

As if on cue, Manager came from the hidden side stage, a pistol aimed right at Brook's skull. "I warned you in the beginning! We could have avoided this if you would have given up on your friends!"

The crowd of shocked Soul King fans started murmuring uneasily, sending scared looks back and forth between the stage and the surrounding Marines. The most prominent of the whispers was, "The Soul King's a Pirate?"

Soul King, or Humming Brook, as his wanted poster deemed him, sighed and addressed the masses in front of him, "My faithful fans – I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but my time as the Soul King has ended. I leave you with a message…THE STRAW HAT PIRATES ARE REVIVED!" Brook screamed his last words into the microphone and readied his swordfish-shaped guitar, "OUR CAPTAIN WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"

And with that, Brook adjusted a dial on his guitar and struck a few chords. Immediately upon hearing the vibrant sound waves, the crowd turned on the marines and started to charge them, while the Marines were helplessly shocked. Not wanting to kill any of the civilians, they couldn't risk shooting any weapons at Brook who was now running from the stage.

Manager shot a bullet from his gun, but Brook deflected it with his sword, which he had concealed in the staff of his guitar. "Sorry it had to end, Manager – but you can no longer exploit my talents. I'm thankful for your cooperation in bringing me to Sabaody to fulfill my promise! Yohohoho!" Brook laughed as he ran as fast as his bones would take him.

Through the maze backstage and the chaos that had blanketed the entire area, Brook managed to escape from the large field, and disappear into the crowds of the amusement park – though of course, the running skeleton still stuck out no matter how crowded a place was.

He escaped from the Sabaody Amusement park, and ran towards Grove 18, ignoring the strange looks he got from all the passersby. Some of them recognized him – because, really, how many walking, talking skeletons are there in the world? – but Brook, now no longer the Soul King, ignored their words and smiles with a wave and a laugh.

He was Brook once again – and he was going home.

* * *

><p>"Uuuhh, where is it?" Luffy groaned. He had been swinging from the trees for what felt like a whole hour now, and so far he'd only seen a few fishing vessels and one Marine ship.<p>

The pack was starting to feel heavier on his back, and his arms were getting tired of being used like swinging ropes. Luffy swung himself upwards, and landed squarely on the branch he had been clinging too.

He decided he'd try his Haki to search for them. He closed his eyes and searched the ground for any familiar spirits. His displaced consciousness scoured the shoreline ahead until he came across a spirit that felt familiar.

The downside of the Kenbunshoku was that you couldn't actually see anyone, but only felt their spirits. He knew it was familiar, and could only describe the spirit as being amber-tinted and impatient.

Luffy opened his eyes, grinning from ear to ear. Finally! He found someone!

He raced off again, like a monkey through the trees, towards the familiar spirit. He jumped and swung from branch to branch for another fifteen minutes when his heart jumped in his chest.

There, just ahead of him, was the Thousand Sunny, and on the deck was a red-haired spec pacing back and forth.

He was directly above the ship now and shouted "OOOIII!"

The orange-haired spec looked upwards and waved its hands over its head."LUFFY!" the red-haired Nami shouted from the deck of the Sunny. Soon the deck was filled with more specs with familiar spirits. His excitement was so overwhelming that Luffy lost his footing on the branch he was on. He dropped like a stone and just before he hit the deck and his friends, he grabbed a hold of the mast and dropped with less force into the midst of his nakama.

"LUFFY!" Everyone shouted as his arms stretched around them all and pulled them into a back-breaking hug.

Luffy laughed and held them all tighter. Everyone started complaining about lack of air, and Nami gave him a quick hit over the head – the only one who wasn't bothered by the hug was Sanji, who was squashed in between Nami and Robin. Hearts formed in his eyes as he breathed in their sweet scent.

Nami could tell that he was getting close to a nose bleed and started to pry at Luffy's hands. "Come on Luffy, let go!"

Finally he relented and looked to the changed faces of his friends.

But still one was missing. "Where's Brook?" He asked, searching the rest of the deck to make sure he hadn't just overlooked the tall skeleton somehow.

"He hasn't-" Franky started, but was interrupted.

"Yohohoho – it seems I missed the Captain's grand entrance!" Brook said as he hopped aboard and strode with his long steps towards Luffy.

"Uwahh! Your guitar is awesome!" Luffy fawned. He plucked a few strings, resulting in an unmelodic sound that sent shivers down everyone's back.

"Leave the music to him, Luffy," Franky said.

Luffy turned to the Cyborg and started to fawn over his modifications with stars in his eyes. Franky entertained him with blocky, robotic movements and talked with a choppy voice, "I-am-Franky-2-point-0."

"Can you transform? Do you have lasers? Show me, show me!"

Zoro smirked and looked to Nami, "Told you he hadn't changed much."

She cocked her head to the side. There were a few changes to him physically: he had gotten stronger, his muscles more defined, and a jagged scar now decorated his chest in an X shape. "Yeah…he's still the same."

Finally snapped out of awe of Franky's cool new alterations, Luffy stepped up onto the bench that surrounded the mast. He looked over his friend's faces with a smile plastered on his face and a relieved look reflected in his eyes, "Guys – I'm sorry for my selfish decision to split up for two years…I realized that I needed to get stronger, both for you, and my goal to be Pirate King. It's been two years, so I'll ask you this," Luffy raised his fist into the air, "Will you come with me to the New World? To Fishman Island?"

His nakama stared at him for a moment, emotions reflected in everyone's eyes – except for Brook, who had no actual eyes.

Zoro finally split the silence and raised his fist into the air as well, "As I've said before, Captain – I'll go where you go."

Sanji raised his hand as well, not wanting to be passed up by Zoro, "You'd starve without me, so I guess I'll come along for the ride."

"And you'd all get lost without my navigational genius," Nami said with a raised fist and a smile.

"What kind of crew would this be without a brave warrior of the sea?" Usopp laughed bravely and added his fist to the others'.

Chopper giggled and put his furry hoof into the air as well, "I'm coming too!"

Robin smiled lightly and sprouted a fist from the mast with her Devil-Fruit ability, "And I as well."

"SUPER! I'm still up for the adventure!" Franky ecstatically punch the sky with his metal fist.

"Yohohoho! And I'll be there to sing you some of my new songs!" Brook laughed. He strummed his guitar strings and then raised his fist of bones as well.

Luffy smiled at all of his friends, and they all smiled back. Finally Luffy jumped off the mast-bench and shouted into the air, "SET SAIL FOR FISHMAN ISLAND AND ADVENTURE!"

The eight members of the Straw-Hat Pirates cheered in response to their captain.

Nami took charge after that point, pulling out the instructions for controlling the ship underwater that Rayleigh had given Franky. She skimmed them quickly, smiling with excitement at doing something so new and turned to the Cyborg, "Franky, dive under the ship and release the air from the float bag."

Franky nodded, "Got it." He dove off the side of the ship with a splash.

"Zoro, Sanji-kun – unfurl the sails!" She commanded.

"Aye-aye, Nami-swaaan!" Sanji shouted before jumping into action.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, "If we're under water, why do we need the sails? Aren't we just sinking?"

Nami shook her head, "No, we use the ocean current like we would the wind. As long as we stick to the right currents, we'll make it to Fishman Island within a few days."

Zoro nodded and quickly climbed to release the sail.

"Took you long enough, marimo," Sanji mocked.

"_Damare_, creepy-beard," Zoro spat back.

Nami rolled their eyes as they bickered while letting the sails fall into place. Their Jolly Roger stood out proudly on their main sail. Nami smiled – she had missed that smiling skull in the strawhat.

Franky must have released the float bag and inflated the coating because the sticky gel-like substance that coated the ship was starting to rise. "The Jelly is moving!" Chopper exclaimed as the bubble coating slowly rose to his middle. The crew looked as if they were sinking in the gel, when really the layer that had been on the deck of the ship was rising. Soon enough the coating had risen enough to create a bubble roof over their heads.

Franky splashed up to the surface and pulled himself into the bubble of the ship. As he landed on the deck he called to Nami, "The float-bag has been removed. We're all ready."

Nami skimmed the instructions that Rayleigh had given her, but realized there was no need. The next step was to sink, and that was what they were doing.

The Thousand Sunny was lowering quickly in the water. With faces of awe and wonder, the ship lowered into the sea and was completely submerged. Clear blue surrounded them as they sunk. They found that the roots of the Sabaody mangroves continued into the blue depths as well, and Nami recalled that the roots were said to reach all the way down to the ocean floor, 10,000 feet down.

"Owah! That's awesome!" Luffy shouted as he pointed to the descending tree roots. Nami looked to where he pointed and saw a gigantic angel fish the size of a shark swimming nonchalantly through the maze of strange roots. "Can we eat it?"

"Sorry Luffy – I don't think that will fit in the aquarium," Sanji said while observing the fish. "Besides, angel fish don't have much meat on them."

Luffy sighed and then remembered his pack, "Oh! Hancock packed us all some food from Amazon Lily! We can eat that!"

"A-Amazon Lily?" Sanji stammered, "Isn't that the legendary Woman's Isle?"

Luffy looked up to him while unpacking all the food from his pack, "Huh? Oh, yeah. That's where I landed when we got split up. It was weird – they'd never even seen a guy before."

At this point Sanji's eyes were flaming and steam was rolling off his body, "WHAT? You got sent to an island full of beautiful women, while I got sent to hell?" Sanji dissolved into tears, but no one paid him much attention.

"They had good food," Luffy smiled.

Everyone ate on deck, watching schools of fish swim past their rapidly sinking ship. Sunlight glittered down on them from the surface, creating fluid patterns that danced on the ship. Nami vaguely wondered how deep they would be able to go before plunging into total darkness.

"So now that we're all here – where did everyone get sent?" Robin asked smoothly, her jazzy voice peeked with interest.

Luffy laughed, "Well I landed on Amazon Lilly – Hancock helped me get to Impel Down and then in the fight at Marine Ford…" Luffy's smile wavered and his eyes reflected a bad memory. Nami instinctively placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him as he continued, "After that Rayleigh trained me on a deserted island…So what about you guys?"

Sanji interrupted, "When you say Hancock…do you mean Boa Hancock?"

"Uh-huh," Luffy nodded.

Again Sanji erupted into flames, "You befriended Boa Hancock? Gah! She's supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world!" Sanji slouched and let his head fall into his hands, "Life is so unfair."

"Shut up dartboard-brow," Zoro scowled.

Sanji muttered harshly back, "Shitty marimo."

Usopp rolled his eyes, "Calm down guys – I'll start with my miraculous tale of transformation!" Usopp laughed and delved into his story of Boin Archipelago, the carnivorous islands where gigantic bugs ran in terror of Usopp and his mentor Heracles. Chopper and Luffy were, as usual taking in by his story, and for once it seemed like the truth – Usopp had drastically changed since their separation.

Nami went next, explaining about Weatheria the sky island, and the old weather scientists that she met there. Chopper told of his adventures on the Bird Island, while Robin gave a limited explanation of her time with the Revolutionary Army – she had been asked by Dragon himself not to expose too much of her time there. Zoro told about his training with Hawkeye, his ultimate rival, much to the awe of the others, while Franky described his time on the home island of Dr. Vegapunk. Brook came next, telling about his music career with a guitar accompaniment.

But Sanji refused to talk about his two years claiming, "It is too horrible to retell…just know that it was hell." He shivered and his blue eyes seemed to delve deep into horrid memories.

Everyone shrugged and dropped the subject.

Luffy stood up and smiled down at all of his crew, "It's good to be back, you guys. You have no idea how much I hated to split up – but I had to get stronger."

"We all did," Zoro replied stoically, "It was the right decision."

Luffy laughed and slapped Zoro on the back, "I hope we find something to fight soon! I want to see how strong everyone got!"

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><p>Hope you liked it. I'll try to update as fast as I can =)<p> 


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